Agreement between Putin and Erdogan: The truce has arrived
A truce has come in the Syrian province of Idlib, as was announced following negotiations between Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
«It can be stated that the ceasefire is indeed being observed. The intensity of hostilities has decreased to almost zero. For the first time in a week, you can safely move along the M5. So soon the road will be opened for civilians,” says Russian military correspondent Yevgeny Poddubny, who is in Idlib.
“Before the onset of the truce, the militants staged a massive shelling of the positions of the Syrian army and Hezbollah in the Saraqib area and in a number of other areas, but did not make any progress. It all looked like a manifestation of impotent anger after yet another promise to “get to Damascus” turned into another defeat both tactically (yesterday’s attempts to take Daddykh and Saraqib failed) and operationally (it was not possible to maintain at least direct fire control over the M-5 highway),” comments columnist Boris Rozhin.
«If you were Erdogan’s lawyer, you can say that if it weren’t for these loud words from the Turkish leadership and the build-up of military force, perhaps Turkey would have been pushed to the edge of Idlib. As the Turkish side talked about this (the Russian side, however, did not confirm it) - Moscow allegedly offered Ankara to move away from the center of Idlib (leave the city itself) and locate along the borders, occupying an area 16 km deep. Or maybe Erdogan would have gone further if not for the 36 dead Turkish soldiers,” notes the author of the “Turkey Agenda” telegram channel.
The problem of refugees from Syria, many of whom turned out to be militants, is a serious challenge for Turkey, says the author of the “Major and General” telegram channel, which is considered close to the Russian security forces.
“Some time ago the author of these lines was in Ankara. He was met by a friend, now a diplomatic worker. Showed the city. He told me how good, kind and polite people are here (unlike Istanbul and the resorts), and how it was absolutely calm and safe here, much safer than in safe Moscow, until THEY showed up. (Again, thanks to Erdogan’s irresponsible policy on the Syrian issue, but still).
The author of these lines, fueled by stupid curiosity, immediately offered to visit the places of compact residence of these refugees in Ankara. To which our comrade, a man of no timidity, with a wealth of combat experience in the past, said - I would categorically not advise meddling there either with diplomatic numbers or with local ones. After watching enough Turkish TV, we once decided to bring them children’s things. The legs barely carried away...
- And the Turks, what about the Turks?
“Ordinary Turks (in the sense of not the police) don’t bother much in these places anymore either.”
If you find an error, please select a piece of text and press Ctrl + Enter.
Thank you!
Now the editors are aware.